Rep. Neguse Announces Significant Grant Funding for School-Based Mental Health Services in Eagle County
Lafayette, CO — Today, Congressman Joe Neguse announced that the Eagle County School District will receive a significant grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support school-based mental health programs in the area. As part of the School-Based Mental Health Grant Program, the school district will receive $785,304 for the coming year. It is anticipated that the grant will be extended for a total of five years. The School-Based Mental Health Grant Program provides competitive grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to hire additional licensed mental health providers in schools.
Recent reports on the youth mental health crisis highlight a rise in the rate of children experiencing mental health issues. In 2022, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment published a survey stating 40% of youth in the state experienced feelings of depression in the past year and 51% of youth in the state felt daily stress more often during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suicide rates were also higher among youth who are LGBTQ+ multi-racial. In May 2021, Children's Hospital Colorado declared a state of emergency for youth mental health.
“The empirical data makes clear that many young people in our community and our country are struggling, which is why access to mental health resources is so critical,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “I’m grateful that Eagle County Schools will receive such a significant grant from the Department of Education for these resources, and we’ll keep working to ensure that folks across our mountain and rural communities can access the same.”
“Eagle County School District is excited to receive the federal behavioral health grant. Our partnership with Your Hope Center is a great example of how we can expand services to our students leveraging local nonprofits. This grant will go a long way in allowing Your Hope Center to hire more school-based therapists to assist our students. We are grateful to Congressman Neguse for his continued advocacy,” said ECSC Superintendent Phil Qualman.
The purpose of the School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) grant program is to provide competitive grants to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and consortia of LEAs to increase the number of credentialed mental health services providers providing school-based mental health services to students in LEAs with demonstrated need.
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